1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to drying handwear and footwear by blowing air into articles such as gloves and boots. The invention further relates to a compact, completely portable and self-contained drying device for use without the need of external power.
2. Description of Prior Art
At one time or another nearly everyone has their handwear or footwear moistened or wetted by the elements or perspiration. This results in the requirement for drying such articles for later use. It is commonly known that failure to dry these articles prior to reuse will result in unacceptable insulating properties of the garment and discomfort to the user.
Generally, users of handwear and footwear take their wet items indoors for drying, such as by a fireside or radiator. This results in the very slow drying of the article, resulting in some delay before the item can be reused outdoors.
Thereafter, inventors created several types of dryers or blowers for use in the home. One such device is disclosed in U.S. patent to Kaffka (1988). The device shown must be used in conjunction with home house current, and is therefore limited to home use. Thus, if an individual was in a remote area or outside of the availability of regular house current, the device was of no use whatsoever.
Other devices were invented for adaptation to hair dryers, as disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,967,060 to Lomeli (1990) and 5,003,707 Chu (1991). Both of these devices require a separate hair dryer for their use, and are an accessory to hair dryers. These devices are limited in their use by the availability of a hair dryer and house current, and are not a complete apparatus for drying.
Other devices have been invented that use the air discharged from home heating systems, as disclosed in U.S. patents to Blanc et al. U.S. Pat. No. 4,200,993 (1980), Kuntz U.S. Pat. No. 3,798,788 (1974) and Jannach et al. U.S. Pat. No. 4,727,656 (1988). These devices rely on and work by channeling air or heated air from an external source into the article to be dried.
Other devices have been invented as disclosed in U.S. patents to Franz U.S. Pat. No. 5,199,188 (1993), Guindon U.S. Pat. No. 5,058,289 (1991), and Vabrinskas U.S. Pat. No. 4,171,580 (1979). These devices are designed for home use in that they require large amounts of electric power to achieve their desired objectives.
Other devices, such as U.S. patent to Dollst U.S. Pat. No. 4,774,769 (1988) rely on the use of an electric heater alone, without a fan or means for circulating air.
The device of the present invention allows for the efficient and economical drying of wet garments, especially shoes, boots, or gloves, in any remote location, such as on a camping trip in the woods, in a boat at sea, or any other place, with or without the availability of outside power sources. All of the devices heretofore know suffer from a number of disadvantages:
(a) The devices are heavy, complicated and not suitable for use outside of the home. PA1 (b) The devices require such great amounts of electricity that their use is tied to the availability of home current or car batteries for their operation. PA1 (c) The devices are merely an accessory to a home hair dryer, and can be used only where a hair dryer and house current are available. PA1 (d) The devices require a forced air heating system in order to operate, and are not suitable outside of places where these systems are unavailable. PA1 (a) to provide a garment drying device with an integral power source requiring no external connections; PA1 (b) to provide a drying device with sufficient power and efficiency to dry garments overnight; PA1 (c) to provide a garment drying device that can be repeatedly used for 25 or more times without depleting the power source; PA1 (d) to provide an efficient and inexpensive ducting system for a garment drying device; PA1 (e) to provide a drying device that is completely portable for outdoor use; PA1 (f) to provide a drying device that is small in size and extremely rugged for use by outdoorsmen; PA1 (g) to provide a garment drying device that adapts to a variety of sizes and shapes of gloves, boots, shoes and other items; PA1 (h) to provide a drying unit which can be safely used by small children; PA1 (i) to provide a drying unit that can be easily and conveniently used by young or old alike, the elderly or infirm and others; and PA1 (j) to provide a garment dryer that introduces significant economies in its manufacture.